Liverpool are believed to have submitted their first official bid for Alexander Isak, while there has also been news on the rumours of the striker agreeing personal terms.
The biggest transfer of the summer is still on the cards for the Reds, with Isak making it clear that he wants to seal a move away from St James’ Park.
Liverpool will likely have to break their transfer record for the second time in the same summer, in order to sign him, having already brought in Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for a mammoth £116m fee.
Sky Germany journalist has claimed that talks over the transfer are “progressing well”, with Isak’s representatives “very positive” about the saga reaching its conclusion sooner rather than later.
An agreement is believed to be in place for the Sweden international, but it looks as though Liverpool will bide their time and try to be as respectful as possible to the Magpies, perhaps waiting for them to sign a new striker first.
Liverpool willing to give Isak £15m-a-year wages as bid submitted
David Ornstein revealed on Friday lunchtime that Liverpool have submitted a formal offer to Newcastle for Isak, which has been rejected.
And, according to a fresh claim from The Boot Room, Liverpool are “prepared” to pay Isak over £300,000 a week which is exactly what the striker is demanding, earning him around £15m per year.
It is added that “discussions have taken place via intermediaries”, with these wages “putting him just behind” the likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, both of whom signed extensions earlier this year.
Liverpool fans are right not to get too carried away about Isak moving to the club, but at this point, it would be a surprise if he wasn’t a Reds player come the end of the current transfer window.
It is clear that he wants to leave Newcastle, with Ornstein revealing he has turned down a new contract with a release clause included, and the Premier League champions see him as their No.1 option to add to their attack.
Assuming Isak does become a Liverpool player, and if they manage to sign a centre-back as well – Crystal Palace and England ace Marc Guehi would be ideal – this could arguably end up being the most exciting transfer window in the club’s history.
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2
By
Angus Sinclair
Jul 31, 2025
To sign both Wirtz and Isak is a summer that Reds supporters could only have dreamed of earlier in the year, and the likes of Jeremy Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitike are all exciting additions, too.
Jafer Chohan, the Yorkshire legspinner, is to return home from England’s white-ball tour of the Caribbean before he has had a chance to make his international debut, with the team management choosing instead to manage his workload ahead of the forthcoming Lions tour of South Africa.Chohan, 22, made history last month when he became the first graduate of the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) to be named in an England squad. Launched in 2021 by Dr Tom Brown, the academy aimed to remedy the under-representation of British South Asian players in the professional game, with Chohan’s opportunity with Yorkshire arising after he had been released by Middlesex as a 17-year-old in 2019.Chohan will not, however, be making the step-up to England international status just yet. Instead, he will fly home on Monday, with the rest of the squad relocating from Barbados to St Lucia, having last night taken a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series, following a comfortable seven-wicket win.In addition to the Lions tour, which takes place from November 20 to December 14 and will be Andrew Flintoff’s first outing as head coach, Chohan is also due to play for Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League, with that tournament commencing on December 15.Related
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His release from England’s white-ball squad is a reflection of the T20I team’s current success, as well as the wealth of spin options already available to Jos Buttler and Marcus Trescothick, the interim head coach.In addition to Adil Rashid, Chohan’s mentor at Yorkshire, with whom he has been working in the nets for the past fortnight, England also have Rehan Ahmed waiting in the wings as a back-up legspinner, plus Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Dan Mousley and Will Jacks in the current starting XI.Nevertheless, his fast-tracking into the England set-up remains a notable achievement, given the distance he has come since 2022, when he was playing National Counties cricket for Berkshire.”SACA helped me a hell of a lot,” he told ESPNcricinfo in the wake of his call-up. “I felt like my game was in a pretty good place, but there’s no real way in, once I got out of the system. It was really tough to think, ‘Okay, I want to become a pro cricketer, how can I actually do it?’ And SACA provided that opportunity for me.”
Mitchell Starc made a dramatic entrance to the ODI series with a searing inswinging yorker to England captain Harry Brook, after Alex Carey had produced a match-changing innings as Australia, strengthened by the return of key names, went 2-0 up in the series with a convincing 68-run victory at Headingley.Starc’s brilliant set-up of Brook, which he capped off with a wicked delivery that thundered into his pad as he was beaten for pace, added to England’s early problems in a chase of 271 after Carey’s 74 provided crucial late runs to a curious Australia innings. A short while later the home side were 65 for 5 when Aaron Hardie claimed two wickets in two balls, including a brilliant caught-and-bowled to remove the in-form Ben Duckett, to leave them with a mountain to climb.Jamie Smith and Jacob Bethell stopped the bleeding with a stand of 55 before Bethell somehow managed to skew a short, wide long hop from Glenn Maxwell to backward point. The game was just about done when Smith clipped Josh Hazlewood to midwicket for a very neat 49 although England’s lower order showed there were few demons in the surface.Australia had been bowled out with more than five overs remaining, having been nine-down in the 37th over before a last-wicket stand of 49 between Carey, only playing due to Josh Inglis’ quad injury, and Hazlewood. But with the visitors having welcomed back Hazlewood and Starc from illness, it still felt as though it would be a considerable test of an England side still trying to reestablish their one-day credentials. The Test duo would finish with five between them.Hazlewood landed the ball on a handkerchief to give Phil Salt a working over – a tough chance was put down at second slip by Matt Short – and it was little surprise when Salt slashed an edge to Carey. In the next over Will Jacks drove expansively outside off stump against Starc and this time Short held on safely in the cordon.Starc, playing his first game since the T20 World Cup in June, then produced a classy over against Brook, barring a delivery on the pads that was clipped for four, probing away across the right-hander before going fuller, straighter and with sharp inswing to have Brook trapped in front of leg stump.Alex Carey pulls during his fighting half-century•AFP/Getty Images
Duckett had again played well, scooping Hazlewood over the keeper and sending a bottom-handed whip over the leg side for six, but toe-ended a slower ball to the left of Hardie who took a spectacular catch low to his left. Next ball Liam Livingstone glanced a leg-side delivery to Carey who took an excellent grab to his left and England’s frontline batting was nearly done.In the first half of the game, Australia were not as dominant with the bat as they had been at Trent Bridge. Mitchell Marsh and Marnus Labuschagne took them to 145 for 3 when Bethell and Adil Rashid, who claimed his 200th ODI wicket, took three quick wickets with another mini-collapse following a stand of 55 between Carey and Hardie.But Carey, who had been welcomed to the crease by a crowd needlessly reminding him of events last year, played smartly as he took singles late in an over to protect Hazlewood – who contributed just four to the stand – while exploiting boundary opportunities including handsome off-side sixes against Potts and Olly Stone.There had been movement for England’s new-ball attack, particularly Stone who was impressive after being recalled for the rested Jofra Archer, but Travis Head was just starting to move through his gears when he picked out deep backward square with a whip-pull off his hip. In his second spell, Potts nipped the ball both ways: movement away found Short’s edge then a peach of a delivery zipped back to take Smith’s off stump.Marsh and Labuschagne went about their task carefully and the run-rate slowed. They had to combat some sharp spin from Rashid, but Marsh flicked a switch with two sixes in three balls off the struggling Carse, the first a huge pull deep into the Western Terrace to take him to a 47-ball fifty and the second coming from a free hit after Carse overstepped.Adil Rashid claimed his 200th ODI wicket when he removed Glenn Maxwell•Getty Images
Then, much as it did for Australia two days ago, spin made an impact. Labuschagne spliced a pull against Bethell to mid-on and Marsh missed a sweep to give the left-armer his second. Maxwell pummeled his first ball from Bethell for six but picked out deep midwicket while attempting a repeat to hand Rashid his 200th ODI wicket.Carey and Hardie played positively as they took advantage of Brook’s decision to squeeze out some extra overs of spin, with Livingstone and Jacks going for 34 in three between them. A curious innings involved another twist when Carse’s day took a turn for the better. Recalled to the attack, he removed Hardie first ball with a pull spliced to midwicket and next delivery had Starc flicking into the leg side.When Adam Zampa carved Rashid to point it appeared the innings was on the brink of a very early finish but the final-wicket stand, coupled with Australia’s start with the ball, put a very different complexion on the game.
Fifties from Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh powered India to 201, and UAE barely got going in the chase
Shashank Kishore21-Jul-2024
Richa Ghosh finished with an unbeaten 64 off 29 balls•Getty Images
India all but guaranteed themselves a semi-final spot with a convincing win over UAE in which their middle order got a much-needed hit out and their bowlers plenty of miles.Harmanpreet Kaur top-scored with 66, but it was Richa Ghosh’s sensational late acceleration – she hit an unbeaten 29-ball 64 – that helped India post their first-ever score of 200-plus in T20Is.UAE hardly posed a challenge, even though Esha Oza, the captain, and Kavisha Egodage gave good account of themselves in hitting 36 and 40 not out respectively. That UAE hit more than the 115 for 8 they managed against a lower-ranked Nepal should be confidence-boosting.Despite the loss, UAE aren’t mathematically out of the semi-finals race. A win for Pakistan against Nepal in the evening game should keep them alive.Related
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India vs Pakistan goes cold yet again
India wobble earlyIndia were put in, and they weren’t particularly disappointed. There was the looming threat of their marauding openers – Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana – running away with it once again. But at 52 for 3 inside the powerplay, the opportunity was UAE’s to seize.Among those who fell early, D Hemalatha would’ve been particularly disappointed at having missed out yet another opportunity to make the No. 3 spot her own. In nine innings at that position since the tour of Bangladesh, an unbeaten 41 she made in her first opportunity there remains the highest.Richa on the rampage•ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Two nights ago against Pakistan, she was out slicing a lofted hit to point for 14 in a low-pressure chase after the openers had shellacked 85 in 9.3 overs. Here, the openers were up and away quickly with the platform set – India brought up fifty inside five overs. But Hemalatha’s dismissal for 2 after she was bowled attempting a pull off Heena Hotchandani had India wobbling briefly.One of the consequences from Hemalatha batting at No. 3 is that India have had to rejig a batting position for Jemimah Rodrigues, who has built a reputation of being a touch player. Hemalatha’s continued lean run could at some point have the team management into reinstating Rodrigues at No.3, considering the lower-order firepower at their disposal.On Sunday, Rodrigues made all of 14 in a 54-run stand with Harmanpreet before picking out mid-off in her first attempt to hit over the top.Renuka Singh Thakur struck early for India•Getty Images
Harmanpreet, Richa up the tempoHarmanpreet was happy to knock singles and twos early, but upped the tempo soon after the halfway mark, when she welcomed legspinner Vaishnavee Mahesh for back-to-back fours. On 31, she had a steak of luck when a leading edge while attempting to work one into the leg side landed short of backward point.That aside, Harmanpreet seemed intent on taking the innings right till the end. Along the way, she brought out her plethora of sweeps that found different arcs on the leg-side boundary, ranging from deep backward square to wide long-on.The beauty of Harmanpeet’s sweeps is that when on song, she has the ability to take the bowlers and pitch out of the equation; she can hit just as effectively against the turn as she can with it, primarily because of a giant forward stride and how she gets on top of the bounce most times.At the other end, Ghosh made heads turn with some aesthetically pleasing cover drives and lofted hits with the spin. It’s a bit of a misconception that her game is only centered around power. On Sunday, she showed she can hit authentic strokes and find boundaries with regularity without looking to bash the ball.She hit a crisp cover drive off her fourth delivery, and a six two balls later to quickly get into her stride. She was particularly severe on Oza’s gentle long hops, hitting her for four boundaries, including three back-to-back, in the 15th. Ghosh was comfortably the aggressor in the half-century stand off just 32 balls. Yet at 156 for 2 in 17 overs, 200 seemed a long way off.It needed Harmanpreet to tee off in the penultimate over that brought India 17, and Ghosh’s five back-to-back boundaries off Heena Hotchandani’s left-arm spin in a 20-run final over to give India their highest total in women’s T20Is. Ghosh hit 54 of her 64 runs in boundaries (12 fours and a six). UAE’s chase fizzles in powerplay UAE barely made a push for the target. Theertha Satish took nine balls to get off the mark and was the first to fall in the fifth over as she chipped Renuka Singh to mid-off. Pooja Vastrakar had her first wicket six balls later when she beat Rinitha Rajith to hit top of off.Oza held firm without looking spectacular, but showed signs of shifting gears when she muscled Deepti Sharma out of the ground. In Kavisha Edodage, she found some support as their pair added 40, before Oza became debutant Tanuja Kanwar’s first international wicket.Kanwar, who has forced herself into contention on the back of an excellent WPL for Gujarat Giants, lulled her in flight and beat her in turn to have her stumped. She would finish with figures of 4-0-14-1 to cap off a dream debut that didn’t seem likely even 48 hours ago. From there on, the only academic interest left was to see if UAE could narrow the margin of defeat.
Now that Russell Martin has officially been unveiled as the new Rangers manager, he has plenty of work to do if his team are going to be ready for the start of Champions League qualifying on 22/23 July, with Panathinaikos, Servette or Brann their potential opponents; the draw takes place next Tuesday.
With pivotal European ties just around the corner, Martin is eager to get his transfer business done early, so could it be all change in the striker department?
Rangers seeking a new striker
According to a report by Scott McDermott and Anthony Evans of the Daily Record, Rangers remain in talks with Maccabi Tel Aviv over the signing of striker Dor Turgeman, who they claim is valued at £4m.
Liav Nachmani of Israel Hayom previously documented that Turgeman has ‘expressed a willingness’ to join the Scottish giants, who have ‘been monitoring him for several months’, although the Israeli champions do not want to let him leave easily.
Born in Ashdod, Turgeman joined the Yellows as a 15 year old, making 109 senior appearances since his senior debut five years ago, scoring 32 goals.
This season, he was the third-highest scorer in Ligat HaAl with 16 goals, also on target four times in the Europa League, netting against Panevėžys and then TSC Bačka Topola twice as Maccabi Tel Aviv made it through qualifying, before also getting on the scoresheet against Real Sociedad in October.
Turgeman has international experience too, a key figure in the Israel side that reached the U21 Euros semi-finals two summers ago, earning eight senior caps to date, scoring against Norway in a World Cup qualifier in Debrecen back in March.
So now, could the 21 year old swap the Israeli Mediterranean coastline for Glasgow’s west end?
How Turgeman compares to Dessers
According to a report by Andrew Newport of the Daily Record, Greek side AEK Athens ‘are willing to spend big’ to sign Cyriel Dessers this summer, adding that the Nigerian striker is valued at £5m.
On top of this, Greek journalist Giannis Chorianopoulos of SporTime claims that the Yellow-Blacks are “in talks” with Rangers, so is now the right time to cash in?
Let’s assess Dessers’ statistics for the club since he arrived from Cremonese for a reported £4.5m two summers ago.
Appearances
109
Minutes
6,845
Goals
51
Assists
16
Big chances missed
58
As the table outlines, Dessers’ scoring record at Rangers has been impressive, on target every 134 minutes on average, but the fact he has missed 58 big chances across the Scottish Premiership and Europa League goes a long way to explaining why Alan Pattullo of the Scotsman describes him as a complex ‘enigma’.
Cyriel Dessers
So, would Turgeman be an upgrade? Let’s try and find out.
Appearances
55
44
Minutes
3,423
2,887
Goals
29
20
Minutes per goal
118
144
Assists
7
6
Big chances missed
31
4
Big chances created
4
12
Shots on target (per 90)
1
0.7
Shots on target %
50%
37.5%
Touches per 90
29.1
31.6
Touches in opposition box per 90
5.5
3.1
Average Sofascore Rating
6.81
7.10
As the table outlines, while Dessers did score more goals this season, Turgeman’s underlying statistics are broadly more impressive, missing 27 fewer big chances, creating eight more big chances and registering a greater number of touches per 90.
Writer Kai Watson describes the Israeli international as a strong ball carrier and “lethal inside the box”, while Nene Afadzinu of Football Talent Scout praises his ‘excellent first touch’, hold-up play and close-control, adding that he is capable of being deployed as a team’s ‘focal point’ considering he ‘relishes a duel’ and ‘presses intensely’.
Meantime, Rui Martins of Total Football Analysis outlines how Turgeman’s physical attributes give him a ‘significant competitive advantage’, believing he ‘is ready to be tested at a higher level’.
Thus, if Rangers are able to sell 30 year old Dessers and sign 21-year-old Turgeman for a lower fee, this would appear a no-brainer of an upgrade.
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One year ago, Liverpool stared down the barrel of a gun. Jurgen Klopp had finally wrapped up his tenure, packing his bags after almost nine years at the helm.
The consternation washed through Anfield and out onto the red-bannered streets of Merseyside, but Klopp has been vindicated in his decision, seeing something the Liverpool faithful didn’t when handing the keys to someone else.
That someone, Arne Slot, deserves his share of credit and then some, having taken Klopp’s squad and won the Premier League with relative ease, not wiping the slate clean but dovetailing into the heavy-metal system and toning down the volume, creating a smoother tune to which the players have danced to across the campaign.
Liverpool, after several transfer windows of bided time, are now ready to strengthen considerably. Jeremie Frimpong has signed and deals for his Bayer Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz and Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez in the works.
However, none of these players are centre-backs, and Liverpool could do with some more depth at the rear, especially after missing out on Dean Huijsen.
Liverpool's failed bid for Dean Huijsen
Liverpool made it clear Bournemouth’s Huijsen, 20, was to be a top summer target when it became clear his £50m release clause would be activated at the end of the season, a whole host of high-profile suitors lining up.
Real Madrid won the race, the Spain international never thinking twice about making the move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
After such an incredible breakout campaign on the south coast, it’s disappointing that FSG were unable to get this one done, but then the player’s mind had been set.
With Jarell Quansah mooted for a summer sale after his nominal role under Slot’s wing, Liverpool could have struck gold in securing Huijsen’s services, especially when Quansah is also reportedly worth around £50m.
Jarell Quansah for Liverpool
In any case, given that Ibrahima Konate, who is out of contract in one year, was the last senior centre-half to join the Liverpool cause, leaving RB Leipzig in 2021, it’s clear Liverpool need to identify a new star to join Virgil van Dijk’s ranks.
And they might just have at that.
Liverpool line up Huijsen alternative
According to Football Insider, Liverpool are planning to accelerate their interest in Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi after the defender made it clear he would not be joining Tottenham Hotspur this summer.
Newcastle are also in the race; the Magpies saw four mammoth bids turned down for the England international last year, and are now expected to return for the £65m-rated ace, as corroborated by The Telegraph.
Crystal Palace's MarcGuehireacts after the match
The FA Cup champion is out of contract at the end of the 2025/26 season and does not intend to renew, thus convincing Eagles chairman Steve Parish that he must cash in while he still can.
Why Marc Guehi would be perfect for Liverpool
Guehi has got a taste for silverware, defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final last month, and while Tottenham have ended their interminable drought, Liverpool offer more stable conditions and a squad replete with title-winning credentials.
Crystal Palace's MarcGuehireacts
The 24-year-old has been a pillar of strength for Palace since signing from Chelsea back in 2021. He struggled to make that chasmic leap from Cobham to the Stamford Bridge senior set-up, but Chelsea’s loss was the Eagles’ gain as he is now regarded as “the best centre-back” his side have had since promotion 12 years ago, according to content creator HLTCO.
Liverpool could really benefit from his addition, especially if he could emulate Van Dijk in being a right-footer on the left, a rarity in the modern game. Analyst Ben Mattinson echoed this, calling him “one of those versatile CB’s who can play both sides equally as comfortably,” while he’s also now renowned as “England’s best centre-back” following his immense form at Euro 2024.
Huijsen, admittedly, is naturally left-footed, but then he is out of the equation now, and Guehi might just be the perfect alternative.
Matches (starts)
34 (34)
32 (26)
Goals
3
3
Assists
2
2
Clean sheets
11
7
Touches*
64.9
63.9
Pass completion
84%
84%
Key passes*
0.5
0.5
Ball recoveries*
4.3
3.3
Tackles + interceptions*
2.6
2.7
Clearances*
4.6
6.1
Duels (won)*
4.9 (59%)
3.6 (56%)
Errors made
2
4
There’s a case to be made that Guehi, in spite of the noise around Huijsen, was the better defender throughout the campaign. Certainly, he was more robust in defensive scenarios, more active, crisper.
Huijsen established himself as something of a menace in the final third for Bournemouth this season, but Guehi has showcased an attacking weaponry just as efficient, if not more so.
Guehi’s former England U21 teammate Josef Bursik has even remarked that his peer is a “tank” of a defender, so complete in his defensive work and with an underrated technical ability that would allow him to thrive in Slot’s ball-playing system.
Is Guehi the long-term solution? Maybe so. He might not have quite the same pedigree as Huijsen, who operates in a modern suit that allows his remarkable strength in skill to stand out among the rest of Europe’s central defenders, but the Englishman is well-rounded and a progressive player besides, completing 86% of his dribbles in the top flight this term.
If Liverpool are to sell Quansah this summer, bagging Guehi feels like something of a no-brainer, for it would reinforce Liverpool’s backline with another player capable of playing a significant role in the years ahead.
And even if this doesn’t happen, FSG were clearly willing to green-light a sizeable outlay on Huijsen this summer, and though he will continue to make gains over the coming years, in Guehi, Liverpool would sign a ready-made star to add that little bit of extra defensive fortitude.
Marc Guehi for Crystal Palace.
If Tottenham are indeed lagging behind in the fight for Guehi’s signature, Liverpool might want to make their move quickly, before Newcastle steal ahead.
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Manchester United’s dismal season in the Premier League continued to hit new lows after a 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Vitor Pereira’s side, who have been battling relegation all season, are now level on points with the Red Devils on 58 points, only behind them on goal difference.
A stunning free-kick from Pablo Sarabia was the difference between the two sides in Manchester, as a moment of quality decided the match in a stadium where that has often been the case for the home team in the Premier League era.
A lack of quality sums up where United are at this moment in time – sat 14th in the league table – and their selection of strikers is a damning indictment on the recruitment work done behind the scenes in recent years.
Rasmus Hojlund
Rasmus Hojlund, signed from Atalanta in a £72m deal in 2023, started against Wolves and failed to score, which means that he has scored three goals in 28 Premier League matches.
Joshua Zirkzee was unavailable and is set to miss the remainder of the season due to a hamstring injury, but he has rarely provided the quality that United need in the final third.
Why Man Utd could move on from Joshua Zirkzee
The Red Devils reportedly paid a fee of £36.5m to sign the Netherlands international from Serie A side Bologna last summer to compete with Hojlund for a spot in the starting line-up.
Unfortunately, neither of them have performed well enough to nail down the position of Manchester United’s first-choice number nine, instead taking turns at struggling at the top end of the pitch in the Premier League.
Zirkzee has started 14 of his 32 appearances in the division, which shows that he has failed to perform well enough to be a consistent starter, and scored three goals from 4.82 xG in that time.
Joshua Zirkzee’s striking struggles
24/25 Premier League
Per 90
Percentile rank
Non-penalty xG
0.31
Bottom 36%
Non-penalty goals
0.19
Bottom 16%
Shots
1.89
Bottom 9%
Assists
0.06
Bottom 19%
Expected Assisted Goals
0.10
Bottom 41%
Shot-creating actions
1.99
Bottom 31%
Stats via FBref
As you can see in the table above, the Dutch centre-forward ranks incredibly lowly among strikers in the Premier League in a host of key goalscoring metrics.
These statistics show that Zirkzee does not get into high-quality goalscoring positions on a regular basis and that he fails to make the most of his opportunities when they do come his way.
Joshua Zirkzee
The former Bayern Munich gem turns 24 next month, almost two years older than Hojlund, and could be moved on this summer to make room for a new striker. He cost more than £30m less than the Danish prospect, which could make it more appealing to sell to limit any losses on their initial outlay.
Man Utd reach agreement with £30m striker
According to Africa Foot, as relayed by TEAMtalk, Manchester United have already reached an agreement with Victor Osimhen and his representatives ahead of a possible transfer.
The report claims that the Red Devils have struck a deal with the Nigeria international ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window, as they look to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch.
Galatasaray's VictorOsimhenreacts
It reveals that Osimhen wants to move to the Premier League to take the next step in his career, and he has now given the green light to a transfer to Old Trafford.
The outlet adds that a permanent exit from Napoli is on the cards for the striker this summer, despite his contract not ending until 2026, and that a fee of up to £30m could be enough to secure his services.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Whilst an agreement may have been reached with Osimhen and his representatives, Manchester United still need to agree a deal with the Italian club to ensure that the forward is part of Ruben Amorim’s squad for the 2025/26 campaign.
The agreement with the player does suggest that they are closing in on the Galatasaray loanee, though, and that may not be good news for Zirkzee and his future in Manchester.
Why Manchester United should sign Victor Osimhen
The Red Devils must continue on their path to signing Osimhen from Napoli this summer because he could come in to solve the problems that they have had in the striker position this season.
The 26-year-old marksman is a prolific and reliable goalscorer who has proven his quality at the top end of the pitch in recent seasons, in Italy, France, and Turkey, whilst the United front two have struggled throughout the 2024/25 campaign in the Premier League.
Victor Osimhen’s reliable goalscoring
Season
Club
Appearances
Goals
24/25
Galatasaray
33
29
23/24
Napoli
32
17
22/23
Napoli
39
31
21/22
Napoli
32
18
20/21
Napoli
30
10
19/20
Lille
35
17
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Osimhen has scored 17 goals or more in five of the last six seasons for Lille, Napoli, and Galatasaray, with a staggering 29 goals in 33 matches in the current campaign.
The Napoli forward, who was once described as a “monster” by analyst Ben Mattinson, was particularly impressive in the 2022/23 Serie A season, scoring 26 goals to guide his side to the title.
Zirkzee, meanwhile, has only scored seven goals in 48 matches in all competitions in his debut year in England, which would be Osimhen’s lowest tally in any of his last six years.
This suggests that Osimhen, who currently ranks within the top 1% of forwards in the Men’s Big 5 Leagues and European competitions for non-penalty xG per 90 (0.98), would come in as a significant upgrade on both Zirkzee and Hojlund due to his ability to consistently and reliably find the back of the net, adapting to new countries and leagues with ease.
Galatasaray's VictorOsimhencelebrates scoring a goal that was later disallowed
In terms of what that would mean for the current United strikers, Zirkzee being older and less expensive than Hojlund could result in him being the one to be sent packing to make room for the Nigerian striker ahead of next season.
Therefore, the news that United have reached an agreement with Osimhen should come as bad news to the Dutch attacker, whose days at Old Trafford may already be numbered.
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It is now down to the board to ensure that they can reach an agreement with Napoli, whether that is for a fee of £30m or not, to bolster Amorim’s attacking options.
Arsenal returned to Premier League action with a bang last night.
Mikel Arteta’s side were not perfect by any means, but aside from a nervous last few minutes, they were comfortably the better team against Fulham and fully deserving of all three points.
Moreover, the game marked the long-awaited return of Bukayo Saka, who hadn’t played a minute of football since his hamstring injury against Crystal Palace back in December.
Unsurprisingly, the Hale Ender, who received a rapturous reception, was as effective as he’s ever been, scoring the North Londoners’ second goal just seven minutes after coming on.
However, while his return is excellent news for the team overall, it probably means a certain player won’t start another game this season.
Arsenal's frontline options
So, with the sensational Saka already looking like his old self, we wouldn’t be surprised to see him start the game against Everton on the weekend.
Saka’s 24/25
Competition
EPL
UCL
EFL Cup
Appearances
17
5
3
Minutes
1300′
433′
119′
Goals
6
4
0
Assists
11
2
1
Goal Involvements per Match
1.00
1.2
0.33
Minutes per Goal Involvement
76.47′
72.16′
119′
All Stats via Transfermarkt
After all, his 24 goal involvements in 25 games make him the team’s most productive player this season, and with the tie against Real Madrid coming next week, Arteta will want him as sharp as possible.
So, who’s likely to start down the middle for most of the rest of the campaign, then? Well, there are a few options, like Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard or even Ethan Nwaneri, but after last night, it seems almost set in stone that it’ll be Mikel Merino.
The former Real Sociedad star might be a central midfielder by trade, but since moving up top against Leicester City almost two months ago, he has been surprisingly effective. He has scored five goals and provided one assist in eight appearances as a centre-forward, which equates to a goal involvement every 1.33 games.
Now, nobody is under the illusion that he’s the answer long-term, but the 28-year-old has stepped up when his team has needed him, and that’s goals in back-to-back league games now.
Based on last night’s game, the player to the left of the Spaniard for the next few games should be Martinelli.
The Brazilian has not been particularly impressive this season, but against Fulham, he looked like the player who took the league by storm in the 22/23 campaign and was a constant threat throughout the 90 minutes.
He had Timothy Castagne beat from the very first attack, and while he didn’t get a goal, he did provide an assist for Saka through an utterly ridiculous backheel.
While that will likely be Arteta’s starting attack for the next few games, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Trossard and Nwaneri continue to be heavily involved until the end of the season, which is not something we can say for another attacker.
The Arsenal star who won't start again
With almost all of Arsenal’s fit attacking players already mentioned above, it’ll likely come as no surprise that the player in question is none other than Raheem Sterling.
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The Chelsea loanee joined the club on deadline day in the summer, and while he told the fans that they were going to “see the best” of him, they’ve seen anything but.
The Englishman has scored just one goal and provided four assists in 23 appearances for the North Londoners.
Worse yet, in his 12 Premier League appearances, the 30-year-old winger has provided just a single assist and hasn’t created a single big chance.
Moreover, since he was hooked away to Leicester almost two months ago, the Kingston-born ace has played just 22 minutes of league football in the four games he’s been eligible to play in.
Sterling’s Arsenal record
Competition
EPL
UCL
FA Cup
EFL Cup
Appearances
12
6
1
4
Minutes
307′
297′
80′
270′
Goals
0
0
0
1
Assists
1
2
0
1
Goal Involvements per Match
0.08
0.33
0.00
0.50
Minutes per Goal Involvement
307′
148.5′
N/A
135′
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Now, if he was earning a pittance, then this probably wouldn’t be such an issue, but the Gunners are paying him around £162k-per-week to sit on the bench and offer next to nothing when he comes off of it.
That certainly lends credence to Connor Humm’s assertion that his loan move has been an “absolute waste of time and money.”
Ultimately, it would be hard to describe Sterling’s loan to Arsenal as anything other than a failure. Furthermore, with Saka back in the side and Merino and Martinelli looking good, we can’t see a world where he starts another game this season.
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Bukayo Saka returned to the Arsenal team as they beat Fulham 2-1.
After two years of playing at neutral locations, the Bay Area side have a stadium to call their own in the third season of MLC
Matt Roller11-Jun-2025On Thursday night, history will be made at the Oakland Coliseum in California. San Francisco Unicorns and Washington Freedom will launch the third season of Major League Cricket with a rematch of the 2024 final, which will become the first top-level cricket match staged on the west coast of the United States of America.The Coliseum, which can seat more than 60,000, was until recently the home of the Oakland Athletics (MLB) and Oakland Raiders (NFL) but both franchises have relocated, leaving it without a permanent tenant. Operating at a reduced capacity, it will host the first nine matches of MLC 2025 – including Unicorns’ first three home fixtures after two years at neutral venues.The ICC explored the possibility of using the Coliseum as a venue for last year’s T20 World Cup, but plans fell through for logistical reasons. MLC’s fixtures will be played on the same drop-in pitches used in the New York (more accurately, Long Island) leg of that tournament, which were transported across the country last month.Related
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“It’s a dream come true,” Anand Rajaraman, one of Unicorns’ co-owners, says. “I’m both excited and nervous. I hope the pitches play better than they did in New York. The curator says they will, because they’ve had more time to bed in, but fingers crossed. We’ll be introducing this sport to new people, and we don’t want them to get the wrong idea.”A lack of suitable infrastructure has been a major obstacle to cricket’s growth in the US but the Coliseum is unusually well placed to stage matches. “Cricket needs a field with certain dimensions,” Rajaraman explains. “The Coliseum is unique in that it was built to host American football and baseball, and therefore it’s more oval. That’s why the ICC had their eyes on it.”The venue is best known outside the US as the home of , the 2011 Brad Pitt film based on Michael Lewis’ book of the same name, which explored the Athletics’ use of data and analytics to compete with bigger-budget franchises. Fans regularly complained about the upkeep of the venue, and the Coliseum has been described as “baseball’s last dive bar” in the .The A’s have since relocated to Sacramento, temporarily, ahead of a planned move to Las Vegas, and the Unicorns approached the Coliseum last year to discuss the prospect of staging matches in the Bay Area. The project has since been overseen by MLC chief executive Johnny Grave, who started his new role earlier this year following a seven-year stint heading Cricket West Indies.Since the Athletics and the Raiders vacated the Oakland Coliseum, it has hosted other sports, including the MLC this season•Getty ImagesRajaraman believes there is a natural affinity between Unicorns and the A’s. “In the eyes of the world, they are most famous for Moneyball,” he says. “We see ourselves as the team of Silicon Valley, and my background is technology… The way I can contribute to cricket, and enrich the sport overall, is by pushing the envelope in technology.”He believes that cricket’s data revolution has a long way to run. “There’s been some adoption of data in cricket, which has increased with the IPL, but it’s not as deep or advanced as US sports, for sure.”Whether it’s baseball, [American] football or the NBA, they’ve gone ahead. Technology has not stood still either. With the latest AI, we can do more things with video than we ever could before. I’m very bullish that there is a lot more we can do with data and technology than we are right now.”Rajaraman’s background suggests that he should know. He met Venky Harinarayan, his co-owner, while they were studying at Stanford: “He gave me a ride to pick up groceries back in 1993. We founded our first company together in 1996, and we’ve been business partners ever since.” Both men were born in Chennai (then Madras), and have been cricket fans since childhood.Their first venture, an early price-comparison site called Junglee, was acquired by Amazon during the dotcom boom, and a later company called Kosmix was bought by Walmart; they were also early investors in Facebook. They later founded a venture capital firm, Rocketship, which they still head today.They were early Cricinfo users while studying overseas. “I could keep in touch with cricket even when I wasn’t in India,” Rajaraman says. “I remember following the 1996 World Cup with great attention on Cricinfo, and the famous 2001 Test series [against] Australia. Naturally, I couldn’t watch the whole days’ play, but I followed the rest on Cricinfo.” Vishal Misra, one of Cricinfo’s founders, leads Unicorns’ data analytics team and has a small stake in the franchise.Rajaraman was immediately enthused by the concept of MLC, and particularly the chance to own a team in the Bay Area. “It’s been my home for the last 30 years,” he says. “I’ve invested in enough companies for purely business reasons, and this is certainly not that. I feel like I’m giving back by bringing the sport I love to the region I call home.”Unicorns have players like Pat Cummins, who signed a four-year contract with them, among its ranks•MLCThe “Unicorns” name brought some pushback from the league itself, but the owners insisted that it was right for them; in the business world, the term refers to a start-up company valued at over $1bn. “We invest in companies at an early stage that become the unicorns of the future,” Rajaraman says. “It’s emblematic of what makes Silicon Valley great.”Some MLC stakeholders have invested in the Hundred in England, and four IPL franchise owners are involved in the MLC. Unicorns have a strategic partnership with Cricket Victoria, which involves some level of player and coach overlap, but they remain a single-team franchise and have no immediate plans to create a global network of teams.They were losing finalists under coach Shane Watson last season, their first with Australia captain Pat Cummins in their ranks. Cummins has signed a long-term deal and has expressed his interest in the world of venture capital. “I was blown away by the depth of his interest and knowledge of all things business and technology,” Rajaraman says.Cummins will miss the 2025 MLC season for Australia’s Test series against West Indies, but the league’s salary offers are hard for others to turn down, as evidenced by Nicholas Pooran and Heinrich Klaasen’s recent international retirements. “It’s up to the ICC to rationalise the calendar so that there is less conflict between leagues and international cricket,” Rajaraman says.Having fallen in love with the sport through the 1983 World Cup, Rajaraman now believes that ODIs are redundant. “I was at the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, and there’s nothing like it. You want hard-fought Test cricket between balanced teams. T20s have shown that they are the format of the future, and ODIs will have to ride off into the sunset.”But for the time being, his focus is squarely on Thursday night as cricket arrives on the west coast of America.
He almost took the Chinnaswamy pitch out of the equation, forming a potent partnership with Vidwath Kaverappa
Himanshu Agrawal07-Jul-2023The 35th over of North Zone’s second innings of the Duleep Trophy semi-final began with a change in plan from South Zone: after continuing to pitch the ball up for a while under overcast skies to try and find movement and wickets, South switched to the short-ball strategy.Prabhsimran Singh and Ankit Kumar, who had got together at a tricky 61 for 3 after North had only squeezed out a three-run first-innings lead, were starting to steady the innings. Their partnership soon crossed fifty and they looked good for even more, thanks to the new-found nimbleness of Prabhsimran, who, until then, had struck eight of his 11 boundaries on the third morning itself.With a short leg, straightish fine leg, deepish fine leg and deep square leg in place, Prabhsimran swatted at a short ball from around the wicket from Vyshak Vijaykumar. Vyshak continued with the plan in the 37th over – the fourth delivery of the over was pulled by Prabhsimran between midwicket and mid-on. However, Vyshak had the last laugh when Prabhsimran found deep square leg with another attempted pull.Related
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That wicket started a collapse as North lost 7 for 65 to fold for 211. That wicket fell in the second over of Vyshak’s third spell in the second innings. After his third spell, his figures read 9-0-54-2, and that trigger helped him end the day with 15-0-76-5.While that final economy rate was still on the higher side, Vyshak showed the willingness to hit back before the game slipped out of South’s grasp. He looked confident after every short ball he banged, almost taking the slowness of the pitch out of the equation. Prabhsimran had slammed two fours off the short balls, and the boundaries at the Chinnaswamy Stadium were short too, but Vyshak tirelessly dug the ball into the pitch.”I thought that [in] the second innings, the wicket was a little flatter. So I had to pull my lengths back,” Vyshak said after the third day’s play. “Prabhsimran was batting really well, so the plan was to get him to pull, and it worked. I got my rhythm back.”Vyshak continued to stay on the shorter side, and took three more wickets with that length. On the fourth ball of the 46th over, Jayant Yadav got an inside edge on to the stumps as he looked to block a good-length ball angling in from outside off. Two balls later, Pulkit Narang was cramped by a short ball that came into him and ended up slashing to slip.He got his fifth wicket with another one which rose sharply, this time at the left-handed Nishant Sindhu, who ended up gloving a pull behind to the wicketkeeper. It invited an animated celebration from Vyshak, whose roar reverberated around the quiet and empty Chinnaswamy.Since Vyshak’s first-class debut for Karnataka in February 2022, only Krishnappa Gowtham has taken more wickets for the side. While Vyshak has 38 wickets in the period, Gowtham has 48. However, Gowtham (506 overs) has had the benefit of bowling more overs than Vyshak (291) during the time.South also had Vyshak’s new-ball partner Vidwath Kaverappa to thank for helping restrict North. Kaverappa had extracted two of the three wickets on the second evening, and Vyshak spoke of their rapport, which has brought success for Karnataka too.Since June 2022, when Kaverappa made his first-class debut, the pair has combined to pick up 78 wickets at 19.77 in games where they have played together. That is the second-best among all bowling pairs in the format in India, among those to have taken a minimum of 75 combined wickets at an average of less than 20. That includes combined figures of 59.3-11-177-13 in this match, where Kaverappa grabbed 5 for 28 in the first innings. So what makes them click?”He was telling me what we can do. I was trying to bowl quick, and he said that if you try to backspin, you will get bounce from this wicket,” Vyshak said. “The partnership is working out well. We exchange thoughts, and our understanding is good.”Set 215 to enter the final, South are now 194 away from victory ahead of the final day’s play. Much of that credit goes to Vyshak and Kaverappa. There is promise, and with that, the prospect of shining again in the upcoming Ranji Trophy.